Domestic appliance



Dec. 11, 1945. D. K. FERRIS DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 1, 1942 2Sheets-Sheet l MK WANVENTOR BY W M $44;

Dec. 11, 1945. D. K. FERRIS 2,390,577

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 1. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 -104- "H10 110 mmWWW hens [onfrol .94 mm? Patented Dec. 11, 1945 DOMESTIC APPLIANCEDona-id K. Ferris, Dayton, Ohio, assignor-to General Motors Corporation,Dayton, Ohio, acorporation of Delaware Application August 1, 1942,Serial No. 453,224

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a domestic appliance and more particularly toan ironing machine.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 318,913, which was filed February 14, 1940 and which issuedas Pat. No. 2,307,833 on Jan. 12, 1943. v At the present time theunderwriters specifications limit the current input of portable domesticironing machines so that the wattage available for the shoe is limitedto about1300 to 1500 watts. The shoes of these ironing machines vary inarea between 100 and 200 square inches. It will thus be seen that thisamount of heating capacity per square inch of area is quite small in comparison to a flatiron, most of which are provided with a 1000 wattheating capacity and have an area of about 25 square inches.

This lower heat densityresults in slower temperature recovery of the.shoe and in the past it has been necessary to limit the size of theironing machine shoe or to limit the maximum speed of the roll or both.It is quite obvious that if only a small heating capacity is availablethat the ironing machine must be run comparativeLv slow so that anymaterial being pressed on the ironing machine will be heatedsufliciently to be properly ironed.

This limitation of heat recovery is especially noticeable where ironingis done continuously under one portion of the shoe of. the ironing ma.-chine. v 7

It isan object of my invention to provide an improved heating circuitarrangement for the shoes of ironing machines which will make a moreadvantageous disposition of the wattage to heat the shoes available topermit the use of either a larger size ironer shoe or greater roll speedin ironing or both.

,It is another object of my invention to provide an improved heatingcircuit arrangement for the shoes of ironing machines for the purpose ofconcentrating the heating capacity at the point or portion at which itis needed when it is needed.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved circuitarrangement for the shoe of an ironing machine whereby a much greaterproportion of ,heat may be supplied to one end, preferably the open endof the ironing machine when needed at this point and to provide asuitable thermostatic control for such an arrangement.

-It is still another object of my invention to provide an ironingmachine having a plurality of shoes with a plurality of heating circuitseach for a two-shoe ironing machine.

of the maximum 1300 watt capacity controlled in such a way that they areused alternatively to provide a greater heating capacity in the ironingshoe being used and therefore requiring the most heat.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of th present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top viewof an ironing machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a wiring diagram for a. two-shoe type of ironing machineembodying one form of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a verticalsectional view taken on line 3-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a simplified two-circuit arrangement Figs. 5, 6 and 7 aresimplified showings of the same circuit shown in Fig. 2 and are intendedto more clearly illustrate a few of the possible circuit arrangements byshowing the energized circuits in heavy lines. These figures also showthe main power switch and the means for adjusting the thermostat in thebig shoe; and

Fig.8 shows a chart which indicates thewattage available for heating thebig shoe and the little shoe for various settings of the manual control94 and the thermostats 84 and I2! shown in Figs. 2, 5, 6 and 7.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown an ironing machine of thetwo-shoe type including a large shoe and a small shoe 62. These shoesare both made so that either or both can be released at any time. Thisis illustrated in Fig. 3 in which the small shoe 62 is shown as beingpressed against the roll 64. The releasing of the small sho 62 iscontrolled by the lever 66 while the releasing of the large shoe iscontrolled by the lever 68. The releasing mechanism for each of theseshoes is substantially identical and the releasing mechanism for thelarge shoe Ellis clearly shown in this figure. The releasing lever 68 ispivoted upon the pivot pin 10 to a hollow arm 12 which is rotatablymounted upon. the hollow rod". The large shoe 60 is likewise pivotallyconnected by the pin 10 to the arm 12. A stifi spring of the cantilevertype 18 has its lower end anchored in the rod I4 and extends within thearm 12. A light spring 18 is also provided for engaging the inner wallof the arm 12. The releasing lever 68 is provided with an extensionwithin th arm 12 which is adapted to engage the upper end of the springI6. When the releasing lever 68 is pulled downwardly the end I6 pressesagainst the end of the spring I6 to move the arm I2 and the shoe 60 in acounter-clockwise direction to press the shoe 60 onto the roll 64. Inorder to release the shoe 60, the release lever 68 is moved to theposition shown in the figure so that the spring 16 will no; longer .holdthe shoe- 60- against the roll. -I

In Fig. 2 I have shown a wiring diagram providing a plurality of circuitarrangements for obtaining better heating of such an ironingmachine.Figs. 5, 6 and 7 have been prepared to more clearly show this samecircuit arrangement ment of the various elements. In the small shoe,

conductor I20. This will double the heating capacity of the heatingelement 82 and supply the small shoe with a heating capacity of 700watts. This condition is set forth as condition number 1 on the chartshown in Fig. 8. This chart shows the distribution of the heat forvarious other control settings also.

Th large shoe 60 is also provided with a. main heating element I22,of600 watts. This main the front of the shoe 60 and is connecteddirectlyacross the supply conductors 88 and H4 under the control of the largeshoe thermostat I24 and contacts I26.

"A conductor I28 connects the contacts I26 with without regard to theexact, physical arrangev I plyconductorj L4. The thermostat I24 alsocon- I provide a heating element 82 which may extend around the edges ofthe shoe a capacity of about 175 watts when connected;

in series with the heating element I I0 but has acapac'ity of about 700wattswhen connected directly across the-supply conductors. Theenergization of this heatingelement 82 is controlled by a-doubleactingthermostat84 which is connected by the conductor 86 to sourceconductor 588,? When the shoe cool, the" thermostat 84 willmakeengagement with the contact 90 to connect the heating element 82 to thesource 88. The other end of the heating ele'mentis connected by aconductor'92 to a manual switch 94 i and preferably has" asuitablecasing'203;

theeheating element I22 is connected to the suptrolsthe contact I08 sothat it controls the energizationof both the heating elements H0 and I22y In Fig. 5, I have shown a sectional view of ameans for adjusting thesetting or the thermostat I24 so as to control theternperature atwhichthe thermostat -I 24 moves; the contacts I 08 and I26 to the closedcircuit position; The-thermostat shown is intended to designate anyconventional thermostat used ior regulating thetemperatureu Referencenumeral 200 designates a cam which, when rotated by the knob '20I; ad-

justs the setting of 'the thennostat. A spring 202 wedges the thermostatagainst the earn" 200.

Thermostats of this general typeare well known and may be setto delivermaximum heat, no heat whatsoever, or any intermediateamount of heat.

The cam 200 and the spring 7 202 are mounted in When the thermostat I26in its'open circuit position, as-shown-in Fig.5, the contact I08 willconnect the conductor "I04 with a conductorl II which shunts the heatingelement IIO. This 40'makes it possible for'the thermostat 84 to coningposition, the switch 94wil1'i1ssume the'position shown-in Figs. 2,5, 6and! wherebythe lower contacts 98-will be closedandthe upper contact 96will be in the open position.-- The contacts 98 the conductor 92 to aconductor- I04.

connect conductor I0 4'is connected to the upper thermostat contacts l I08. These contacts I 08 control the connection of conductor I04' witha'small heating element H0 inthelarge sho e60. -This smallheatingelem'ent"preferably has a heating capacity of 1'75 watts whenconnected' in serieswith the heating element 82', asshown inFig. 6,

and about '700 watts when connected directly *acrossthe'supplyconductors, as shown in Fig. '7. This heating element H0 is connectedtothe other supply conductor I I4, as shown inFig; 2 for example. i 7 7r -The thermostat 84 is provided with a second contact I I6 whichconnects to a conductor I I8 for the purpose of short-circuitingtheheating element 82 and "the switch 94 when the small shoe 62 is heatedsufficiently and does not require any heat at that time. This will allowfull voltage "to be impressed upon the heating element '0 so that itwill then supply 700 watts, as shown 'in'FigJI. However, should 'thelarge shoe be'released-by movingits releasel'ever 68 to'the' positionshown-in- Fig. 3, the switch 94 will be 01:;-

.erated to openthecontacts 98 and to close the contacts 96 sothattheheating element 82,'-subject only to the control of the thermostat 84,will F be connected directly across the conductors 88 and H4 ina circuitwhich includes the conduc tor 86;the c0ntact 90, the heating element 82,the conductor 92, the-switch contacts 96 and the the contact I08connects theelement IIO to the conductor I04; e

Thus by this circuit arrangement, when only the small shoe is beingused, it is provided with a heating capacity of 700 watts while the idlelarge "shoe is provided with 600 watts-"to maintain it inalieatedcondit-ion. Whenboth shoes arebeing used and the thermostat I24calls-for heating, the-small shoe is providedwith a heating capacity ofwattsand the large shoe with the heatin ca y o watts. When thefsrnallshoe requires no heat, the large shoe'is provided with a heatingcapacityot 1300 watts, as shown in Fig. "7. AlthOugh -I haVe specified differentwattages for the different heating elements, it should be understoodthatthese different wattages can be proportioned as desired in order toobtain the desired heat distribution within the maximum permissiblelimit. Thusby providing a plurality of heating circuits of the maximumavailable heating'capacityof 1300 wattseach, I can concentrate theheating capacity wherever it is needed or wherever it isdesired wheneverit is desired; A conventional master control switch 204 is shown in theline H4 in Figs. 5,6 and '7 for turning off all of the heatingelementsin In 4, there is shown'a simplified wiring diagram for the two-shoearrangement shown in Fig. 2. In this figure the small and large shoesare designated by the reference characters 282 and 260. The largeheating unit in the large shoe is designated by the reference character222 while the small heating element is designated by the referencecharacter 2l8. The heating element in the small shoe is designated bythe reference character 282. In this simplified form, the main heatingelement 222 is connected across the supply conductors 288 and H4 underthe control of the thermostat 224. The small element 218 and the element282 of the small shoe are connected in series with the small shoethermostat 284 across the supply conductors 288 and 2M.

A shunt including the conductors 204 and 228 as well as the switch 294is provided for the small heat element 210 in the large shoe. The switch294 is a diagrammatic form of the switch 94, as shown in Fig. 3, and isintended to be operated in the same manner so as to close the shunt forthe small heating element of the large shoe whenever the large shoe isreleased, as shown in Fig. 3. This shunting of the small heating element210 thus connects the small shoe heating element 282 and the small shoethermostat 284 directly across the supply conductors 288 and 214,thereby increasing the voltage applied to the heating element 282 andgreatly increasing the wattage.

The heating elements may be proportioned as suggested in connection withFig. 2 or they may be varied as desired. Thus in this form the switchesand circuits are less complicated and yet means is provided forincreasing the heat output of the small shoe 262 whenever the large shoeis released. This wiring circuit is intended to be used with an ironingmachine such as is shown in Fig. 3.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. An ironing machine comprising a movable ironing member, a first shoeand a second shoe to cooperate with said ironing member, control meansfor disconnecting one of said shoes from cooperation with said ironingmember, a first heating means in said first shoe, a second heating meansin said second shoe, and means operated by said control meansdeenergizing one of said heating means without deenergizing the other ofsaid heating means when said control means disconnects one of saidshoes.

2. An ironing machine comprising a movable ironing member, a first shoeand a second shoe to cooperate with said ironing member, control meansfor disconnecting one of said shoes from cooperation with said ironingmember, a first heating means in said first shoe, a second heating meansin said second shoe, a first thermostat controlling energization of saidfirst heating means, a second thermostat controlling energization ofsaid second heating means, and means operated by said control meansdeenergizing one of said heating means without deenergizing the other ofsaid heating means when said control means disconnects one of saidshoes.

3. An ironing machine including an open end roll and an open end shoemeans, a first heating means concentrated at the open end portion ofsaid shoe means, a second heating means concentrated in another portionof said shoe means away from said end, thermostatic control meanspreferentially connecting said heating means to concentrate more heat atsaid open end portion irrespective of the temperature at the closed endas long as required.

4. An ironing machine including an open end roll and an open end shoemeans, a first heating means concentrated at the open end portion ofsaid shoe means, a second heating meanscon- 'centrated in anotherportion or said shoe means away from said open end, thermostatic controlmeans preferentially connecting said heating means to concentrate moreheat at said open end portion irrespective of the temperature at theclosed end as long as required and thereafter to concentrate more heatin said another portion of said shoe means away from said open end.

5. An ironing machine comprising in combination, a roll, shoe meanscooperating with said roll, a first resistance heating meansconcentrated in a first portion of the shoe means, second and thirdresistance heating means concentrated in a second portion of the shoemeans, a pair of electrical supply lines for supplying electricity tosaid resistance heating means, means for connecting said first andsecond resistance heating means in series across said supply lines,means for connecting said third resistance element directly across saidsupply lines in parallel with said first and second resistance elements,and means for short circuiting said second heating means whereby saidfirst heating means is connected directly across said lines.

6. An ironing machine comprising in combination, a roll, shoe meanscooperating with said roll, a first resistance heating meansconcentrated in a first portion of the shoe means, second and thirdresistance heating means concentrated in a second portion of the shoemeans, a pair of electrical supply lines for supplying electricity tosaid resistance heating means, means for connecting said first andsecond resistance heating means in series across said supply lines,means for connecting said third resistance element directly across saidsupply lines in parallel with said first and second resistance elements,means for short circuiting said second heating means whereby said firstheating means is connected directly across said lines, said first andsecond portions of said shoe means each being independently movable intoand out of ironing engagement with said roll, and said means for shortcircuiting said second heating means being operable to short circuitsaid second heating means whenever said second portion of said shoemeans is moved out of ironing engagement with said roll.

7. An ironing machine comprising a movable ironing member, a first shoeand a second shoe to cooperate with said ironing member, control meansfor disconnecting one of said shoes from cooperation with said ironingmember, a first resistance heating means in said first shoe, a secondresistance heating means in said second shoe, means connecting saidfirst and second heating means in series, and means operated by saidcontrol means deenergizing one of said heating means withoutdeenergizing the other of said heating means when said control meansdisconnects one of said shoes.

8. In an ironing machine including a roll and shoe means cooperatingwith said roll, a, pluralit of resistance heating means in said shoemeans, a pair of electrical supply lines for supply ing electricity tosaid resistance heating means,

means for connecting a pair of said resistance heating means inseriesacrosssaid supply lines, said pair of heating means beinglocated in:different parts of said shoe means and being of substantially equalelectrical resistance, means for connecting a third resistance elementdirectly :across said supply lines in parallel with said first andsecond resistance elements, said third resistance element being locatedin one of said parts of'said shoe means and being of substantiallygreater electrical resistance than either of said pair of heating meansbut having greater heating capacity than said pair of heating means whenconnected in series, and means for altering the distribution of heat insaid shoe means including means for short-circuiting one of said pair ofresistance heating means,

- =19; An ironing device comprising in combination, pressing means, afirst resistanceheating means concentrated in a first portion of thepressing means, second and third resistance heating means concentratedin a second portion of the pressing meansapair of electrical supplylines for supplying electricity to said resistance vheating means, meansfor connectingsaid first and second resistance heating means in seriesacross said supply lines, means for connecting: said third resistanceelement directly across said supplylines in parallel with said first andsecond resistance elements, and means for short circuiting saidsecondheating means whereby said first heating means is connecteddirectly across said lines.

DONALD K. FERRIS.

